So, you want to try an escape room, but you have absolutely no idea where to start? Or perhaps you’ve already attempted an escape experience and failed epically?
No one enters an escape room with the intention of facing the humiliation of losing, so you need to choose an escape challenge that plays to your strengths and will definitely not make you look like a dumb dumb in front of all of your friends.
To help you to select such a game, we’ve created this list of things to consider when choosing your first or next escape room challenge along with suggestions for games that you can play!
Choosing an appropriate difficulty rating
Escape rooms are designed to test and challenge the different parts of your brain to the fullest. Even the games with lower difficulty ratings are created to test you in obscure ways. A lower difficulty rating by no means means that the experience will be easy. You need to know what to look for, be suspicious of everything and try and get into the mind of the game maker to truly conquer the game.
Lesson: “Don’t try to run before you can walk”
If you have never tried an escape room before, or have failed at your previous attempts, we recommend that you try the novice level games before taking on the bigger challenges. This will allow you to get used to the flow of an escape room game and give you some insight on what to look out for when you’re ready to attempt the more intense experiences.
Novice level games to try: The Invitation Manchester, Cursed Carnival Cardiff, The Da Vinci Room London
How many people will be on your escape team?
Although a lot of escape rooms recommend two or more players, there’s a definitive advantage to having more people on your side. This is because each person on your team will have their own different way of looking at things, their own specialist skills and an individual ability to solve certain puzzles.
The more bases that you can cover, the better! So, make sure that you fill your team with people that have skills in different areas. Furthermore, the more people you have, the less time it should take to discover clues or challenges as you will all be able to search different areas or work on different challenges simultaneously.
Lesson: “Many hands make light work”
However, if you are a couple or dynamic duo, there are still options available to you where you are likely to succeed! Some escape rooms involve a sequence of different rooms, whereas others involve a singular room.
Given your limited man power, we would recommend that pairs opt for a single room escape experience for their first experience.
Escape experiences to for two people: Mr Borrowdales Study Durham, The Asylum Atherton, Area 51 London
What is your specialist field and is there a theme to match it?
Many escape experiences are based on a theme or story. Give yourself an advantage by selecting an escape room theme that is of personal interest to your knowledge, skills or job. For example, if you’re interested in history then an Egyptian theme may be of more interest to you or if you’re a doctor then maybe a hospital or laboratory theme could be especially attractive?
Lesson: “Better the devil you know”
The more interested you are in the theme, the more open your mind will be to the puzzles which will make your ability to identify opportunities even stronger.
Themed escape room ideas to try: Gold Rush Swansea, Pirates of Polaris Margate, Clown Prince of Crime Athlone